Asian stock indices were mostly up by 1.2%. The only exception was the Shanghai Composite index, which declined by 0.3%. Other indicators showed gains. The Shenzhen Composite and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 indices gained 0.2% and 0.24% respectively. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index added 0.8% and Korea's KOSPI increased by 0.96%. Japan's Nikkei 225 index soared by 1.12%.

As usual, Asian indices are following the US ones, which showed gains yesterday. This happened against the background of the release of the minutes of the US Federal Reserve meeting, during which most of the participants voted for monetary policy easing. Perhaps, already at the December meeting, the Fed may decide to raise the key rate by a smaller number of points than before.

Meanwhile, China is experiencing another severe outbreak of the coronavirus. Yesterday, there was a record number of cases in one day since the beginning of the pandemic. Restrictions are being reintroduced in some major cities of the country, and mass testing of citizens for COVID-19 will be carried out.

Investors are worried about the situation with the rise of cases in China, which will lead to new restrictions and slow down the growth of the country's economy.

Among Chinese companies traded on the Shanghai Exchange, Essence Information Technology, Co. showed the biggest drop, falling by 13.7%, Beijing Tricolor Technology, Co. lost 10%, and Zhejiang Baida Precision Manufacturing, Corp. dropped by 7.8%.

Meanwhile, on the stock exchange in Hong Kong, Country Garden Holdings, Co. Ltd. gained 20.4%, Longfor Group Holdings, Ltd. surged by 12.2%, as well as China Vanke, Co. soared by 8.4%. This was due to the announcement of individual banks in China about the possibility of opening new credit opportunities to developers.

At the same time. Xiaomi, Corp. fell by 3.6% due to the company's net loss and a 10% decline in revenue last quarter due to lower global demand for cell phones.

Among the components of the Japanese Nikkei 225 index, CyberAgent, Inc. gained 6.9%, Nippon Yusen K.K. added 6.1%, and Advantest, Corp. increased by 4.6%.

Meanwhile, the Bank of Korea decided to raise its key rate by 0.25% to 3.25% from 3%. This indicates a softening of monetary policy measures compared to the October increase of 0.5%.

At the same time, the regulator lowered its forecast for GDP growth in 2023 to 1.7% from the August forecast of 2.1%. The inflation forecast was revised from 3.7% to 3.6%. The forecasts for the current year remain the same: GDP growth is expected at 2.6%, and consumer price growth is at 5.1%.

Among the components of the Korean KOSPI, Samsung Electronics rose by 0.7% and Hyundai Motor jumped by 0.6%.

Components of the Australian S&P/ASX also showed gains, with BHP shares up 1.6% and Rio Tinto up 1.4%.